F 
129 

Ql2S5 




QUAKER HILL 
SERIES 



X I . Ubomas Uaber anb 
Ebwarb Sbove — 
a IRemintscence. 



FY 



REV BENJAMIN SHOVF 




Class. 
Book. 



Fi?..g 







AMY TABER SHOVE 

l.KCKXDARY OF QUAKER HIM, 



THOMAS TABER 

AND 

EDWARD SHOVE. 

A REMINISCENCE. 



BY 

REV. BENJAMIN SHOVE. 

IV 



READ AT THE FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE 

QUAKER HILL CONFERENCE, AUGUST THE 

FIFTEENTH, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND 

THREE. 



Published by the Quaker Hill Conference Association 

Quaker Hill, New York 

1903 



Publications 

Op the Quaker Hill Conference Association 

A Critical Study of the Bible, by Rev. Newton M. 
Hall of Springfield, Mass. 

The Relation of the Church at Home to the 
Church Abroad, by Rev. George William Knox, D. D.. of 
New York. 

A Tenable Theory of Biblical Inspiration, by 
Prof. Irving Francis Wood of Northampton, Mass. 

The Book Farmer, by Edward H. Jenkins, Ph. D., of 
New Haven, Conn. 

LOCAL HISTORY SERIES 

David Irish— A Memoir, by his daughter, Mrs. Phoebe 
T. Wanzer of Quaker Hill, N. Y. 

Quaker Hill in the Eighteenth Century, by Rev. 
Warren H. Wilson of Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Quaker Hill in the Nineteenth Century, by Rev. 
Warren H. Wilson of Brooklyn. N. Y. 

Hiram B. Jones and His School, by Rev. Edward L. 
Chichester of Quaker Hill, N. Y. 

Richard Osborn— A Reminiscence, by Margaret B. 
Monahan of Quaker Hill, N, Y. 

Albert J. Akin— A Tribute, by Rev. Warren H. Wilson 
of Brooklyn. N. Y, 

Ancient Homes and Early Days at Quaker Hill, 
by Amanda Akin Stearns of Quaker Hill, N. Y, 

Thomas Taber and Edward Shove— A Reminiscence 
—by Rev. Benjamin Shove of New York, 

Any one of these publications may be had by addressing 
the Secretary, Rev. Edward L. Chichester. 

Quaker Hill, N. Y. 

Price Ten Cents. Twelve Cents Postpaid. 



Gift 

Pub 1 '-' 

3 i 



THOMAS TABER AND 

EDWARD SHOVE- 

A REMINISCENCE. 

Thomas Taber and Edward Shove are 
the subjects of my theme upon this 
occasion. They were my paternal great- 
grandfathers, and early settlers in this 
neighborhood. 

Here, at the beginning, I desire to ex- 
press my gratitude to the Executive 
Committee of the Quaker Hill Conference 
Association for this opportunity to repre- 
sent them at this session of their 
organization. 

To me this Old Meeting House is a 
hallowed Sanctuary. As I think of my an- 
cestors and their immediate posterity, who 
worshipped here so many years ago, my 
entire being is swayed with ineffable 
emotions. I seem to see their forms, 
listen to their voices, and the sound of 
their feet as they tread these floors. It 
may be that my venerated grandmother 
commenced her public ministry for the 
dear Lord under this roof. 
5 



But I must close these tender reflections. 
I arn reminded that the time limit demands 
the sacrifice of all imaginative rhetoric on 
the altar of plain facts. 

o 

I — Thomas Taber. 

With pleasure, I acknowledge my great 
obligations to Martha A. Taber of Pawling, 
for valuable assistance in the preparation 
of this part of my subject. She has 
proved herself a thorough and expert 
genealogist, not only in tracing the lines of 
her descent in this country, but, also, that 
of our great-grandmother, Anna Theresa 
Taber, through several families of Great 
Britain. 

Thomas was the fourth in line of descent 
from Philip — the first known immigrant in 
this country of that name. We find him 
in Watertown in 1614, where he was 
made a freeman for a worthy, public 
deed. His record proves him to have 
been a man of ability and energy. He 
was one of the first settlers of Yarmouth. 
He was a member of the earliest Assembly 
of Plymouth in 1639-40; and, later, a 
representative of Providence. 

In the line of descent from him there 
were two other Philips, and then, William, 
6 



the father of Thomas, who was born, June 
22, 1732, probably at Dartmouth, as that 
was his Massachusetts home. 

Thomas married Anna Theresa, daugh- 
ter of George and Deborah (Searles) Pierce. 

The first Pierce to settle in this country 
was Richard. He came on the ship 
Lyon, commanded, and said to be owned, 
by his brother, Capt. William Pierce. 

As the Tabers and Pierces were so 
contiguous to the Mayflower families, it is 
not strange that there were frequent 
intermarriages between them. Their lines 
are traced into the families of Rogers, 
Cooks, and John and Priscilla Alden. 

We are not able to give the exact time 
of his settlement on Quaker Hill. It may, 
however, be approximated by the deed of 
his farm. According to its contents, it 
was given in " 1760, in the 33 year of the 
reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the 
Second, by the grace of God, King of 
Great Britain, France and Ireland." The 
grantor was Thomas Brain of Jamaica, 
Long Island; the grantee was Thomas 
Taber of Dartmouth, Bristol Co., Pro- 
vince of Mass. Their removal is likely to 
have been during the year, 1760. 

I learn through William H. Taber, a 
great-grandson of Thomas, and the present 
7 



owner of the farm, that it originally 
contained 379 acres, being a residue of the 
50,000 acres surrendered by Connecticut 
to New York. William H. Taber is now 
in possession of 260 acres of this farm. It 
has never been outside of the family since 
its purchase by the pioneer Taber, nearly 
one hundred and fifty years ago. It de- 
scended successively to Jeremiah, William 
and then to William H. 

On this homestead Thomas and Theresa 
reared their family of ten children — three 
sons and seven daughters. Most of them 
were Friends. They intermarried with the 
Akins, Ferrises, Russels and others. Their 
descendants were numerous. Some of 
them went to other sections of our great 
country. Others have remained here and 
have been efficient factors in the production 
of the splendid moral tone pervading this 
community. It is a pleasant thought to 
contemplate that Albert J. Akin, whose 
long and worthy life is specially honored 
by this Conference, and some of the Taber 
posterity have a common ancestor in the 
pioneer Akin of this locality. 

Some of the Tabers have wrought in 

public as well as private life. I am credibly 

informed that Thomas Taber, the pioneer, 

as a Judge, took the oath of allegiance in 

8 



Poughkeepsie, on the accession of George 
the Third. In my childhood I often heard 
his son, William, called Judge Taber. He 
held that honorable position in Dutchess 
County. He was also a Representative in 
the State Legislature. William's son, 
Thomas, formerly of Chestnut Ridge, was 
a representative in the National Congress. 

Thomas Taber died Sept. 18, 1783, 51 
years of age, antedating the death of his 
wife eighteen years. Together they are 
interred in a neat family burial ground on 
the old Homestead, surrounded by the 
graves of several of their descendants. His 
will was made September^ 1783, fourteen 
days prior to his death. 

His will manifests a man of acute fore- 
sight and minute detail in business. After 
providing very liberally for his sons, Wil- 
liam and Jeremiah, who were also appoint- 
ed executors, the other son and married 
daughters having been previously cared for, 
the needs of the widow and the five minor 
daughters are considered. Their wants are 
so fully anticipated and specifically provided 
for as seemingly to obviate all future anxiety 
or care on their part. Then, at the mar- 
riage of each daughter, her outfit was 
particularized from the " two cows," " ten 
sheep," •' fiddle-back chairs," and " chany 
9 



dishes/' to the " dozen tin teaspoons " and 
"two bed cords," even the "one great 
wheel " and the "one foot wheel" were 
not forgotten. 

To me the most interesting part of his 
will is in this item : " 1 give and bequeath 
to my negro man, Jethro, his freedom." 
He was possessed of too much love for 
manhood, irrespective of race or color, to 
leave him as an asset to be disposed of as a 
chattel. Here, upon this magnificent Hill, 
was the dawning of that brighter day to 
come, a little over three-quarters of a cen- 
tury in the future, when Abraham Lincoln's 
Proclamation would liberate the last son 
and daughter of the African race in bondage 
in this great American Republic. The 
sentiments advocated on this lofty summit 
by the fathers and mothers and emphasized 
in their actions were harbingers of a higher 
and better civilization on this American soil. 

From my childhood I had supposed that 
Thomas Taber was a Quaker, as it was the 
sect of so many of his children and their 
posterity. But some of his Baptist descen- 
dants in this township present a counter 
claim. The evidence given is of such a 
character that, while I am not fully con- 
vinced that he was a Baptist, yet I must 
10 



confess that my belief that he was a Quaker 
is somewhat shattered. But Baptist or 
Quaker, or neither, this liberation of his 
bondsman allies him so closely to the spirit 
and teaching of Christ that I have the 
strongest confidence in the genuineness of 
his Christianity and it has greatly increased 
my admiration of his character. 



II— EDWARD SHOVE. 

This Edward was third in line of descent 
from Rev. George Shove, the third Congre- 
gationalist pastor of Taunton, Mass. He 
was ordained and settled there in 1665, 
and served till his death in 1687. He also 
during that time conducted a very pros- 
perous school, numbering at times as high 
as eighty pupils and of such a grade as to 
prepare students for Cambridge. 

He was thrice married. His first wife 
was Hopestill, a daughter of the noted Rev. 
Samuel Newman. His second wife was 
Hannah, daughter of Rev. Thomas Walley 
— his third was Widow Farrell of Taunton. 
His only son, from his marriage with Han- 
nah Walley, was named Edward. He be- 
came an influential man in Massachusetts 
Colony. The inventory of his personal 
estate, after death, reveals a law library. 
11 



His name is also attached to many transfers 
of real estate and other documents as attor- 
ney in Taunton, showing his profession as 
a lawyer. He represented the town of 
Dighton in the Colonial Assembly from 
1728 to 1733. June, 1732, he was chair- 
man of the General Court of Massachusetts. 
He married Lydia Dayton, a granddaugh- 
ter of Rev.Wm.Witherell. There were born 
of this union George and Mary, twins, 
Lydia, Ruth, Elizabeth, Theophilus, Ed- 
ward, Hannah and Nathaniel. I give their 
names because I found them on the Monthly 
Records at the Old Swanzey Meeting-house 
near Fall River, Mass. As far as I can 
learn, from this family originated the Qua- 
ker branch of the Shoves. For three gen- 
erations it bore abundant fruitage. 

What a mighty power must have been 
manifested in wrenching this branch from 
the old Puritan tree, through the pores of 
which flowed the blood of three Puritan 
preachers! Certainly it was cyclonic in 
effect, while the operation was effected 
through Quaker quietude and gentleness. 

George — the twin of Mary — was the 
father of Edward, the subject of this paper. 
The maiden name of his mother was Sarah 
Chase. He was born in 1736 in Dighton, 
Mass., and was twice married. His first 
12 



wife was Ruth Cleamens of the same town. 
Intent of marriage was made and consent 
given at the Swanzey Meeting-house. Two 
of his paternal uncles, Theophlius and Ed- 
ward, were appointed a committee to see 
that the ceremony "should be decently 
performed according to the custom of the 
society," The bans were consummated 
at the Freetown Meeting-house. The cer- 
tificate of marriage is still in the possession 
of one of the descendants. It states the 
date to have been the "fourth day of the 
eleventh month, called November, Anno 
Domino, 1757." It bears the signature of 
twenty -four witnesses. Among them, 
with the name of a married sister, Sarah 
Purrington, there are thirteen Shoves. The 
names of his widowed mother, two sisters 
and one brother are included, also his uncle, 
Theophilus, and uncle's wife, Philadelphia 
Osborn Shove. Of this marriage there was 
at least one son, George, who died in early 
manhood. Edward's second marriage was 
with Sarah Deuel. I possess these items 
from the Oblong and Nine Partners Rec- 
ords : "Edward Shove of Oblong, inten- 
tion of marriage to Sarah, daughter of Ben- 
jamin and Sarah Deuel. 16th day, 1 ith mo., 
1769; married 27th day, 12th mo., 1769. 
There were born of this marriage twelve 

13 



children. Benjamin, the oldest, born 1770, 
was my grandfather. 

Edward settled in the valley at the north 
end of Quaker Hill. There he reared his 
family and lived out his days. The near- 
est I can approximate the time of his advent 
to this locality is by the dates of his two 
marriages — the one in Dighton, 1757, the 
one at Oblong, 1769. During one of the 
intervening years he made his home in 
this section, and engaged in tanning, 
shoemaking and farming. In my boyhood 
I frequently saw the old, abandoned vats 
near the saw mill, then owned by his 
grandson, George Shove. I judge at that 
time this neighborhood was a business 
center of considerable importance. Beside 
the tanning and shoemaking, there is evi- 
dence that a store was maintained there for 
several years by Benjamin and Silas Deuel. 
I have several times seen a Bill of Merchan- 
dise purchased by " Benjamin & Silas Deuel, 
both of Dutchess County, N. Y., of Edward 
& William Laight, merchants of New York 
city. The amount of purchase was ^200." 
The date of the transaction was Feb. 25th, 
year of the Independence of the United 
States of America, in the year of our Lord, 
One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty- 
five. There is also an old account book, 
14 



which was used in this store, at the old 
homestead of Edward Shove, Jr., now in 
possession of a grandson, Melville Shove, 
at Mount Vision, Otsego County, N. Y. 

My grandfather was a clerk in this store, 
according to a tradition in the family. 
George, his brother, was in some way con- 
nected with the business. The last pay- 
ment on the New York bill is acknowledged 
by indorsement on it as having been re- 
ceived by his hand. It was the second 
payment thus acknowledged on the bill. I 
am not acquainted with the conditions 
which caused this transfer of business to 
other centers. 



-o- 



III— UNITY OF THE TABER AND 
SHOVE FAMILIES. 

We now have these families settled on 
their homesteads — one on the top of the 
hill, the other at its foot. The high alti- 
tude of the one, the low of the other, do 
not isolate them. Confidence and friend- 
ship prevail. The continuity of their for- 
mer homes in Massachusetts may have had 
an influence on this state of amity and so- 
ciability. They might have been friends 
in those earlier years. The Quakerism, 
15 



dominating one entire family and a part of 
the other, would be a strong bond of unity. 

There is also confidence and helpfulness 
manifested, in a business way, at a time 
when one wants his special friends by his 
side. When Thomas Taber is near death, 
and makes his will, Edward Shove is one 
of the three witnesses, and the only one 
who appears to testify in the Probate 
Court. When Anna Theresa Taber thinks 
proper to make her will, Edward Shove and 
Edward Shove, Jr., are the witnesses. 

Then there was a girl on the top of the 
hill, budding into a splendid womanhood, 
named Amy ; and there was a boy at the 
bottom of the hill, developing into man- 
hood, named Benjamin. They were sure to 
meet on meeting days, and extend and 
receive the usual compliments of the oc- 
casion. Then there came a time when a 
heart tenderness gleamed from the eyes and 
pulsated in the handshaking as they uttered 
the words " thou " and " thee," and the one 
word growing so hard to pronounce at 
parting, "farewell!" As time rushes on, 
the hill seems to lose its steepness and 
length from the home at the bottom of the 
hill to the home at its top, whether the the 
young gentleman is on horseback or afoot, 
16 



A little further on there comes the plight- 
ing of hearts and hands for life. 

I am quite sure that human hearts are the 
same the world over; that the same tender 
emotions of love beat in the hearts of young 
people who wear the brown or the drab 
dresses, plainly made, as in those who are 
garbed in the fashionable attire of the 
people of the world. It is not at all sur- 
prising if ''the stream of true love does 
not always run smoothly," among young 
Quakers as well as other young people, as 
hearts of the same nature are liable to the 
same suspicions of mind and fluctuations 
of emotions. There is likely to be some 
retarded undercurrent and ripples on the 
surface. There might be some shore fric- 
tion causing rough and unpleasant edges 
to the banks. There may be some little at- 
tention to another, inspiring hopes when 
not intended, and provoking anxieties 
without cause. 

There is in my possession from my 
grandfather's desk, as a part of my inher- 
itance, a letter in verse, paper yellow and 
writing dim with age, from a young lady 
of Dover, whose name will not find a place 
in this paper. With maiden modesty and 
saddened undertone she breathes her ten- 
der sentiments and disappointment. At 

n 



the close of the poem she makes this re- 
quest: " Please give my love to Amy Ta- 
ber when thee sees her ! " 

It is evident that the Quaker virtue of 
forgiveness controlled the poetess, if there 
were occasion for its exercise. 



IV— THE WEDDING. 

The time approached when there was a 
marriage which cemented the two families 
into a closer bond of union. There were 
two incidents connected with the wedding 
worthy of note. 

The first one was full of perplexity and 
confusion to the wedding party and of un- 
doubted roguish hilarity to another. The 
ceremony was at the Taber homestead. 
The wedding feast was baked in an out- 
door oven. The table was set with the 
finest linen and rarest plate ; but when the 
waiters went for the contents of the oven, 
lo ! they were not there. Even in that 
Quaker community, so strict in the propri- 
eties of life, as well as moral living, there 
must have been some reprobate boys of 
daring spirit who appropriated the tooth- 
some viands, and hied away to some seclud- 
18 



ed spot for a sumptuous feast. One can 
readily imagine the unspeakable mortifica- 
tion and enraged hunger of the party in- 
side the house, and the festive hilarity of 
the young rascals outside. I once read of 
a very profane man who would emphasize 
every pleasure with an oath, and when 
angered, O! how he would swear. One 
day he was drawing sand. Coming to a 
long and steep hill he left the wagon and 
walked by the side of his team. By some 
means the hind board lost its position, and 
while he walked the sand ran out. Reach- 
ing the summit of the hill, and turning to 
get into the wagon he saw it was empty* 
and the hill sanded from the bottom to the 
top. He opened his mouth wide for his 
best effort of profanity, but the volley did 
not come. At last he exclaimed, ''It's no 
use to try. I can't find words fit for the 
occasion." These Quakers of pure hearts 
and clean lips would not swear. O no ! 
they were clear above such a sin. But if 
they had searched their mental vocabulary 
all through, they would have failed to find 
words "fit for the occasion." 

The second incident was far more serious 
in results. The consummation of the bans 
was not in the beautiful and impressive 
custom and formula of the Friends. The 

19 



ceremony was an infraction of their rules, 
and the young couple were disciplined. A 
part of the atonement was a confession of 
sorrow. Grandmother, like a good Qua- 
keress, condoned her offense in this way 
and was forgiven. Grandfather's stubborn 
heart rebelled, and he declared "1 am not 
sorry, and I will not falsify by saying I am," 
and was disowned. Although Grandfather 
in every other respect was as good a Friend 
as ever, he never resumed his membership 
until the rule was modified, and then his 
name was again enrolled by his request. 

But consider the consequences of his loss 
of membership. All his children except 
the youngest, his daughter Eliza, were 
born outside of the Society. She married 
a Methodist class leader. So, as a result of 
this undenominational marriage, nine of his 
children and all of his forty grandchildren 
were deprived of their birthright member- 
ship. Who can compute the results of this 
event as they consider the "what might 
have been " of an alternative course of 
procedure, or how many Quaker mem- 
bers and preachers otherwise might have 
been born into the society from this family ? 



20 



V— THE SHOVE HOMESTEAD. 

Edward Shove died in his Oblong home- 
stead Noveber 15, 1809. Before his death 
a part of his farm was set off to one of 
his heirs, which is now occupied by one of 
his great-grandsons, Henry Shove. The 
remainder was transferred to his son, Ed- 
ward, Jr., with the care of his widow. 
Near the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury his sons, Benjamin, Jonathan and 
Brice, with his daughter, Ruth Hoag, 
moved into Otsego County and established 
homes. Others migrated into other sec- 
tions. 

Soon after the death of his father Ed- 
ward, Jr., sold the farm and followed those 
who had gone to Otsego. The widowed 
nether, over seventy years old, rode a pony 
to her new home, which, for years, was a 
great pet in the family. 

By these removals the larger portion of 
Edward Shove's posterity was taken from 
this locality. Still there are representatives 
of his family residing here: prominent 
among them is Mrs. Henry A. Holmes of 
Pawling. Edward, Jr., sold his part of 
the farm to his brother-in-law, John Hoag. 
From him it passed to his son, William J. 
Hoag. It is now owned by Mr. Lyman 
21 



Brown. As the farm came from a Hoagto 
the Shoves and from them to another Hoag, 
it probably was in the possession of the 
two families nearly one hundred and fifty 
years. 

o 

VI— GRANDMOTHER'S LEGENDS. 

My grandmother Shove was born, reared 
and married on the Taber homestead. She 
had a majestic physique, was strong- 
minded, with a retentive and ready mem- 
ory. She was also an interesting conver- 
sationalist, with an occasional Cape Cod 
provincialism, as "darter" for daughter; 
" cratur " for creature. It was her delight 
to amuse her grandchildren with stories of 
her girlhood days. To me the most inter- 
esting were those relating to the encamp- 
ment of the Continental army in her father's 
neighborhood during the Revolutionary 
War. 

Rev. Mr. Wilson has clearly demonstrat- 
ed that the army was encamped on Quaker 
Hill in 1778. Grandmother was then five 
years old, and of suitable age to remember 
events then transpiring in the neighbor- 
hood. Some of the most distinct and last- 
ing memories of my life are connected with 
incidents occurring when I was four years 

22 



old; and those incidents were not as spec- 
tacular and thrilling as those surrounding 
her at that time. Then let it be recollected 
that, in her childhood, there were not 
so many things to be remembered as 
now. In those ancestral times there were 
no daily newspapers, morning and even- 
ing, bringing their many columns of news 
from every part of the civilized globe; 
so the most we read to-day is forgot- 
ten to-morrow. All that these ancestors 
had, with which to tax their memories, 
were the happenings of the family or neigh- 
borhood, or an occasional letter brought by 
a friend or the infrequent mails. Grand- 
mother was a living witness, rehearsing in 
her ripe old age the occurrences of her 
childhood. She was, moreover, a Qua- 
keress preacher. I believed her as I be- 
lieve my Bible. When some persons have 
said that the Continental Army and General 
Washington were never there, I have al- 
ways answered, " I know they were, for 
my grandmother told me they were." 

The incident given by Mr. Wilson of the 
discovery of the Cowboys in the attic of 
the Old Meeting-house by the young peo- 
ple, she was wont to relate, almost word 
for word, abating the romance of the 
young lady and the British officer. 



I was most interested in the story that 
her father's house was headquarters of one 
of General Washington's officers. For that 
reason it was guarded. She slept with her 
mother. As she saw the glitter of the 
guard's burnished bayonet in the moon- 
beams through the window, as he passed 
to and fro, she would cuddle behind her 
mother, and shut the fearful vision from her 
sight and try to forget it in sleep. In my 
youthful, patriotic enthusiasm, though a 
Quaker boy, I thought it was a family 
honor rather than a reproach, to have a 
Continental officer quartered in my great- 
grandfather's home. 

Another story was far more frightful to 
us children. She had a sister, Meriba, sev- 
eral years her senior. The latter was ath- 
letic and brave. Once a party of Cowboys 
came to rob the house during the absence 
of the men folks. There was a kettle of 
water over the fire. Meriba seized it, and 
with a dipper in hand, followed them from 
room to room, with the threat if they took 
a single thing she would scald them. As 
they had too much manhood to fire upon 
a woman, she fairly drove them, empty 
handed, from the house. Then, we chil- 
dren, would make the house echo with our 
cheers over the heroism of Aunt Meriba. 
24 



Then came the cheese story. Her moth- 
er had a fine reputation as a cheese maker. 
She announced that she would give a 
cheese to the first general officer who 
should visit the neighborhood, One day, 
being summoned to the door, she was 
greatly surprised to find a servant of Gen. 
Washington, with a note from him claim- 
ing, under the conditions of the promise, 
the cheese. Of course it was sent, and the 
General had an opportunity to test her skill 
in that domestic art. It is hoped that her 
reputation did not suffer in his estimation. 
What a choice piece of paper that note 
from the great Washington would be, had 
it been preserved in the family ! How of- 
ten an event, at the the time of its occur- 
rence seemingly ordinary and trifling, in a 
century is replete with historic value. 

One more incident will close these 
legends. It was told me by a cousin of 
mine who bears grandmother's name. It 
is given on her authority, as I do not re- 
member hearing it from my grandmother's 
lips. 

Some years years after the close of the 
war, when peace and plenty were smiling 
over the land, a poor man came to the 
house and begged for some corn. Jere- 
miah Taber, grandmother's brother, who 
25 



had charge of the business, recognizing 
him as one of the Cowboys of war times, 
in a stern manner asked the man, "why 
don't you go to the crib and help yourself, 
as you used to do ? " The poor man was 
crestfallen. Finally, the Quaker's love 
principle conquered the old animosity ; 
Jeremiah went with him to the crib, and, 
filling the sack, sent the man home with a 
thankful heart. Doubtless the event made 
both better and happier men. 

A few months ago these legends were 
published in the " Pawling Chronicle." A 
short time after I received a letter from Mr. 
Lewis S. Patrick, of Marinette, Wisconsin, 
a stranger to me. As it is corroborative of 
two of these legends, I take the liberty of 
quoting a part of it. He writes : 

"My letter has for its object to help you 
in your cheese story. Some two or three 
years ago, while in Washington, I went to 
the Treasury Department where I saw the 
account of Washington's personal expens- 
es while he was at Fredericksburgh. Un- 
der date of Nov. 6, 1778, occurs this item: 
' To cash paid servant for bringing cheese 
from Mr. Taber's, 16 shillings.' 

"Again : the map in the Quaker Hill 
History which you have, — referring to Rev, 
Mr. Wilson's book — came from a photo- 
26 



graph I had made of the original map. 
You will notice, near the top of it, Mr. Ta- 
ber's name. I feel very certain the place 
indicated is where Wm. H. Taber lives at 
the present time; I have no doubt that some 
one belonging to the army was there, or 
the name would not have appeared on 
the original map." 

Again: "I like your idea about the 
ground where the soldiers are buried. 
There is no question but that Washington 
was in that vicinity in 1778." 



-o- 



VII— MONUMENTAL GROUND. 

There is no doubt, at the present time, 
about Quaker Hill and its vicinity being 
historical ground. Why not make it a 
" monumental ground ? " 

Through all historical times great battle 
fields have been marked and honored spots. 
Many of them bear monuments to com- 
memorate the struggles there occurring, 
where valor did its best, to win. In too 
many instances the only motive of these 
battles was conquest for greed or glory. 

In the throes of our Revolutionary strug- 
gle a nation was born, consecrated to civil 
equality and liberty of every native and 

27 



adopted citizen under its flag. No other 
nation, in all the earth, has made such rapid 
strides to greatness and power since its 
birth. No other nation has been truer to 
its baptismal vows. If, at any time, the 
government wanders from the first princi- 
ples of its national creed, these granite 
shafts, which indicate the location of these 
combats for universal freedom, recall it to 
the duty of a new dedication to the cause 
for which the fathers suffered and died. 

It matters not whether slain on battle- 
fields, or died in hospital, a patriot's life was 
surrendered for the holy cause. For this 
reason the locations of encampments and 
hospitals should be diligently sought out 
and enshrined. In such neighborhoods 
are legends, transmitted through family 
records and traditions, which should be 
preserved and immortalized. 

Quaker Hill is an honored locality, not 
only for its lofty altitude, scenic beauty, 
moral stamina of its Quaker ancestors and 
their worthy descendants, but for the en- 
campment of the army under General 
Washington in 1778. The Old Meeting- 
house, consecrated to the worship of God, 
in accordance with the faith and practice of 
its builders, was, also, devoted to a merci- 
ful purpose, and, therefore Christly, when 
28 



it sheltered the sick and dying soldiers. 

Had Christ, in those days of suffering 
which tried men's souls, from the exalted 
seat of His enthronement, spoken to the 
benefactors of those soldiers who had 
found an asylum in His own sanctuary, 
what would He have said ? Let Him an- 
swer for himself. " Inasmuch as ye have 
done it to one of the least of these My 
children, ye have done it unto Me." 

The sacred ground where these soldiers 
lie, who gave their lives for freedom and 
country, ought to be secured from obscur- 
ity, and its solemn significance handed 
down to the latest posterity. Worthy men 
have adorned and enriched Quaker Hill with 
splendid buildings. Are there not others 
who will arise and perform a nobler deed 
by erecting a suitable monument on the 
burial ground of these fallen heroes ? It 
would be a just tribute to dead patriots by 
living ones. 

In these times patriotic women, as well 
as men, are placing memorial tablets and 
monuments on nearly every Revolutionary 
historic spot that can be found. What a 
splendid work in this line is being done by 
the Daughters of the Revolution ! Why 
not thus honor this spot ? It would stim- 
ulate the posterity of Quaker Hill ancestors, 
29 



scattered through this great Republic, to 
become pilgrims to their ancestral home, 
and before its sacred shrine, renew alle- 
giance to God and country. 

Then, Quaker Hill will live in the future 
as well as in the past. Religion and pat- 
riotism, united in holy wedlock, will send 
out from this sublime summit an influence 
throughout this immense Republic, from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, from the 
glaciers of Alaska to the sunny plains of 
the Southland, helping not only to preserve, 
but to perfect and perpetuate the freest and 
purest government that ever blessed the 
human race. 



30 



APPENDIX — WILL OF 
THOMAS TABER. 

In the Name of God, Amen, I, Thomas Taber 
of the Oblong in the County of Dutchess and 
State of New York, being in perfect mind and 
memory, do think fit to make a distribution of 
my outward estate by will in the following man- 
ner, viz. : 

Imprimis — It is my will that all my just debts 
and funeral charges first of all be paid out of my 
moneys by my executors here after mentioned. 

Item — I give and bequeath unto my well beloved 
wife, Anne Therase Taber, two feather beds and 
furniture for said beds, and two bedsteads and 
two bed cords, and one- third part of all my 
household goods excepting beds and bedding ; and 
six hundred weight of pork that is good, and the 
fat that comes out of said pork; and seven hund- 
red weight of good beef, with the tallow that 
comes out of said beef; and salt enough to salt 
said pork and beef with ; and thirty bushels of 
wheat and twenty five bushels of indian corn and 
two bushels of good turnips and four bushels of 
good potatoes, and six barrels of cider put into the 
cellar, and apples to use in the summer, and 
twenty five bushels of winter apples to be brought 
into the cellar or where she shall order; and forty 
weight of sheep wool and eighty weight flax and 
two hundred weight of cheese and forty weight of 
butter; and ten dunghill fowls and two turkeys 
keept and to have the eggs and increase of the said 
fowls. All the above articals of provisions that I 
have given my wife are to be yearly and every 
year so long as my five youngest daughters live 
with her, and when either of them shall leave her 

31 



the above provision is to be diminished according 
to the number that leave her. Also I give her a 
good garden, to be kept well-fenced and dug up 
sufficient to raise her sauce in ; and fire wood at 
the door cut fit for the fire or fire-places; and one 
good horse provided and kept well winter and 
summer, and a woman's saddle and bridle, and 
said horse is to be kept shod, and two good cows 
provided and kept in the summer and one in the 
winter to give her milk ; and I give her the use of 
new south part of my house and a sufficient priv 
ilege in the cellar: and twelve pounds in money 
yearly as long as my five youngest daughters live 
with her. and after they all leave her six pounds 
a year yearly. All these legacies that I have given 
my wife are to be paid and performed by my ex- 
ecutors hereafter mentioned, as long as she shall 
remain my widow and no longer, which they are 
to do equally, and all that I have given to my wife 
are in lieu of her rights of dowry and power of 
thirds. 

Item— I give to my son. Nathaniel Taber, ten 
shillings in money and a suit of clothes, to be paid 
by my executors hereafter mentioned. 

Item — I give and bequeath to my two sons, Jer 
miah and Willia m Taber, all of my farm of land 
and buildings thereon, together with all my mon- 
ey and obligations for money, and stock and all 
my outdoor movables that I haven't already given 
away and don't hereafter give away, provided they 
pay all the legacies mentioned for them to pay 
equally and all which I give to them is to be divi- 
ded equally between them, which is given to them 
and their heirs and assigns forever. 

Item— I give and bequeath to my daughter, 
Meribe Hazerd, a living with my two sons, Wil- 
liam and Jeremiah, as long as she don't live with 
her husband, nor keep with him or frequent his 
company, and if her husband should die and she 
should marry again, then I give her one half as 
much as I give to my younger daughters with 
what I have already lent her, and also I give her 
fiye dollars in money over and above what is above 
given her. 

Item— I give and bequeath to my five daughters, 

32 



Antheracy, Ruth, Saloma, Amy and Mary Taber, 
the following articals, to each of them, viz. : two 
good feather beds, six pairs of linen sheets, five 
carsey blankets, two coverlids, one good piece of 
calico for a set of curtains, two pairs of bolster 
cases, six pairs of pillow cases, six fiddle-backed 
chairs and six common chairs, one high case of 
drawers, one large oval table, one small oval table, 
one square table, one great wheel, one foot wheel, 
two pails, one tub, one churn, one brass kettle 
to hold four pails full, one large iron pot, one 
small ditto, one iron kettle to hold one pail full 
and a half, one frying pan, one copper tea ket 
tie, two large pewter platters, one small ditto, 
three pint basons, three quart basons, one dozen 
of pewter plates, six pewter porringers, four ta 
ble clothes, two large and two small, eight towels 
all of huckaback, one looking-glass of fifty shil- 
lings price, one block tin teapot, one set of china 
tea dishes, one dozen earthen plates, one case of 
knives and forks, two bedsteads, two bed cords, 
six milk pans, six beaker glasses, one pair of 
tongs and a slice, two smoothing irons, one 
chest with a draw in it, six block tin spoons, one 
tramel, two cows, ten sheep ; they are to take all 
the house stuff that I haven't already given away 
towards what I have above mentioned for them , 
to have, which is to be paid to them by my exec- 
utors hereinafter mentioned, and if my wife 
should die or marry away before my daughters 
should, then they are to have the same privi ledge 
in the house and of fire wood and to be supplied 
at the executors' table with all necessary conven 
iences for them and to be found with shoes by the 
executors as long as they remain single. 

Item — I give and bequeath to my grandson, 
Thomas Taber Ferris, son of my daughter, Hannah 
Ferris, deceased, ten shillings, and also I give to 
my granddaughter, Hannah Ferris, rive shillings 
besides what I gave her mother. 

Item — I give and bequeath to my negro man, 
Jethro, his freedom. 

Item — I do hereby nominate, constitute and 
appoint my well beloved sons, William Taber and 

33 



Jeremiah Taber, my only and lawful executors to 
this my last Will and Testament, notifying and 
confirming this and no other to be my last Will and 
Testament, hereby disa lowing and making void 
all former wills or gifts whatsoever. In witness 
whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed 
my seal this fourth day of September in ye year 
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred eighty 
and three . THOMAS TABER. 

Signed, sealed published and delivered 
by the said Thomas Taber to be his last 
Will and Testament, in the presence of 

Abraham Thomas 

Benjamin Deuel, 

Edward Shove. 
Probated in the City of New York Dec. 23. 1783. 



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